My old boss said to never use mesh tape on inside corners

He was a 30 year veteran from up in Portland and swore by paper tape only. I figured he was just set in his ways so I tried fiberglass mesh on a bathroom job last month anyway. The corner cracked right down the middle within two weeks and I had to go back and redo it. Has anyone else had better luck with mesh on corners or is paper really the only way to go?

3 comments

3 Comments

margaret3041mo ago

Told a buddy of mine about this very thing last week... he used mesh on a closet corner in his house and it looked fine for about a month then split right along the seam like a zipper. He pulled the whole strip off and did it over with paper and it's been holding for like two years now. Paper just has that extra flex or something that mesh doesn't have I guess... especially in a bathroom where things expand and contract.

lily_singh21mo ago

Oh man that is EXACTLY what happened to my buddy Tom. He did his whole basement bathroom with mesh tape on the drywall joints. Looked perfect for like three months. Then one day we went down there and the corner bead had literally popped loose from the wall. He tried to patch it but it kept cracking. Finally he ripped it all out and did paper tape. That was maybe four years ago and it's still solid. Mesh just doesn't hold up where there's any movement or moisture. Paper stretches with the house. Mesh snaps.

the_oscar1d ago

You really think paper tape's some kind of magic fix? @lily_singh2, I've seen mesh hold up fine in basements for years if you bed it in properly with hot mud instead of that premixed crap.